


Night Terrors

by ClickClickBoom



Series: Ghosts That We Knew [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: After Adamant, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-02 06:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12721341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClickClickBoom/pseuds/ClickClickBoom
Summary: In the days following the attack on Adamant, Inquisitor Trevelyan finds herself plagued with nightmares of the Fade that feel terrifyingly real. Desperate for the night terrors to pass, efforts to avoid sleep while juggling the responsibilities of the Inquisition are quick to overwhelm an exhausted Inquisitor.





	1. Awake

**Author's Note:**

> **Dragon Age Inquisition:** Night Terrors  
>  **Characters:** Inquisitor Trevelyan, Cullen Rutherford, Cassandra Pentaghast, Josephine Montilyet, Leliana, Morrigan, Varric Tethras, The Iron Bull, Dorian Pavus, Sera, The Bull’s Chargers, Cremisius Aclassi, Corypheus  
>  **Word Count:** 2,404  
>  **Synopsis:** In the days following the attack on Adamant, Inquisitor Trevelyan finds herself plagued with night terrors of the Fade that feel terrifyingly real. Desperate for the nightmares to pass, efforts to avoid sleep while juggling the responsibilities of the Inquisition are quick to overwhelm an exhausted Inquisitor.  
>  **Rating:** T  
>  **Warnings:** None.  
>  **Writer Notes:** Playing around in the Dragon Age: Inquisition universe again. Not quite sure where this is headed, but folks were so kind about my previously posted DAI fic, I thought I’d share this little exercise as well. Thanks for viewing!

There wasn't a thing in existence Korinna wished for more than some solitude in the days following Adamant - a chance to wander forests without threat of interruption, or hole up in a quiet room by the fire and watch the flames dance in silence without worry of someone strolling in - but the castle that served as the heart of the Inquisition lie high in barren, snowy mountains, a day’s trek from forest and civilization alike in all directions, and its restless inhabitants worked in shifts around the clock in their efforts to take down Corypheus… Every hour of which, Korinna’s input had been deemed invaluable.

As a result, Skyhold had never felt so small. The sweeping castle, for all of its winding towers and grand fortifications was swarming with people, churning at all hours with the unending machinations of the Inquisition.

Korinna was exhausted. Nearly six days after their army had reclaimed Adamant from Corypheus’s legion of demon-bound Grey Warden mages, after those captured had been tried and jailed, those fallen had been sent off to their Maker at the pyre, and the Inquisition’s focus had begun to sway elsewhere on the war front, Korinna found herself running on disastrously little sleep.

It wasn't that she hadn't the opportunity to rest, mind. Her advisers were steadfast in ensuring her schedule provided opportunities to steal a night’s sleep. It also wasn't as though she hadn't _tried_. She simply couldn't.

Twice now she had walked the Fade. Awake, cognizant, flesh and bones _walked_ the Fade. The first time, her memory of her experiences had been stolen away. She hadn't realized what a boon that ignorance had been until she found herself beneath the weight of the experience twofold.

Demons. Nightmares. Ground as walls and ceilings firmly at her feet. Her greatest fears made literal, tangible monsters that fixated on killing she and her friends. The Black City looming far on the horizon like an omnipresent, inescapable eye. The Fade had proven a living hell.

Korinna had discovered within hours of their return to Skyhold that she could not rest - could not so much as close her eyes - without nightmares of the Fade stealing her away. As visceral and real as she remembered it, they haunted her. Terrified her. Clenched her heart and stole her breath, and, the moment she woke and escaped them, they kept her painfully, determinedly awake.

“Inquisitor? _Inquisitor_.”

Korinna jerked rigidly and her eyes went wide. A sweeping glance across the war room table found all five of her advisors watching her with an air of guarded curiosity - and, she was keen to note, an air of carefully masked worry as well.

“I'm sorry, Cullen,” she sighed quietly, a gloved hand rubbing weary eyes. It was the fourth time she’d gotten lost in her thoughts in as many hours. Surrounded by parchments, maps and quills, and waning candles burnt nearly to their ends, it had been a painfully long session of delegation and planning, with little end in sight.

“What were you saying?”

“Perhaps we should reconvene in the morning?” Cassandra said. “The Duke spent nearly a week mulling over his correspondence. Surely can spare us another night for a response.”

“Of course,” Leliana agreed, her gaze especially mindful, never leaving its study of the Inquisitor’s features. 

“Very well,” Josephine made to roll and slip the duke’s missive back into the traveling case it had been delivered with, “I'll see to it that the messenger is given quarters for the night.”

Korinna sighed, “Forgive me. I'm not certain where my head is at today.”

“We’ve accomplished plenty, Inquisitor,” the Commander dismissed kindly, “and it is late. I doubt anyone would mind calling it a night before dark for once.” The massive chamber doors were clipping shut as he spoke, Morrigan having already bid her leave without a word. Cullen gestured and deadpanned, “Case and point.”

“ _Get some rest_ , Inquisitor,” Leliana pressed as her fellow advisors turned their attention to sorting and stealing away the day’s endless arrangement of notes and correspondence. The Spymaster swept gracefully to Korinna’s side, her hand hooking at her elbow and pace herding to pair of them towards the door, “Clear your head. Perhaps find that Qunari of yours?”

Feeling like a child who had been caught misbehaving in class, Korinna stammered, ever used to being one of the last people out of the War Room, rather than a first, “Are you certain? I mean we still have Requisition orders from three different provinces, and the Duke--”

“ _Go_ ,” Leliana mused lightly, giving her superior a literal push out into the hall.

“But--”

The Spymaster stood firm, eyebrows rising bemusedly and a smirk at her lips. For all of the kindness in her features, Korinna knew that expression to be a warning. 

“All right, all right,” Korinna chuckled wearily, hands up in non-committal defense, “going.”

The chamber door clipped closed at her back, its clamor resonating down the cavernous hall before the space fell to silence, and the silence into a low, ominous hum in the pits of her ears. 

Korinna sighed. Her muscles ached and her eyes burned, and that hum... That blasted hum... It goaded her alongside the relentless unease that had been chasing her for days. She cast a glance towards the section of ancient stone wall in the corridor that had crumbled to the elements over time. The open sky that shone through was slowly sinking from the reds of sunset towards the twinkling indigo of night.

Another night. Another exercise in avoiding people, avoiding questions, avoiding contact. Avoiding sleep.

Sickness and exhaustion swept her at the very thought. She hefted a tremendous sigh, chasing back the mounting restriction in her chest, before, with feet feeling like deadweights, she pressed her way forward. 

Nobles chattered and swayed throughout the main hall, gilded masks and glimmering gowns slipping between firelight and shadows. The air hung hot and low and hummed with chatter, sticky and thick, making the Inquisitor’s already addled head swim. She ducked her head, doing her damnedest to avoid countless prying gazes as she slipped by, and nodding curtly as she was addressed in passing.

“Man, no offense, Hotshot, but you look like shit.”

Korinna glanced up just as she pushed past the crowd of schmoozing Orlesians, chilly mountain air from the open entrance to the hall sweeping her, and caught sight of Varric half-grinning cheekily at her despite a hint of concern in his voice. The dwarf stood huddled over his usual table before the hearth, countless parchments being gathered as he collected the day’s writings into an old leather satchel, a black feather quill tucked behind one ear.

“Ever the charmer,” Korinna sighed with a weary smirk. She hooked an arm around Varric’s shoulders to wrangle him close and stooped to squash an obnoxious smooch on his cheek.

“For you? Always,” Varric mused, unflappable as ever. “Seriously, though. Red and the Seeker running you too hard? Tiny not letting you get a full night, or what?”

Korinna smiled as best as she could muster, shaking her head, “I'm fine, thank you. Just… Long day.” She sighed, and spared a nod to a pair of noblemen who muttered ‘Inquisitor,’ on their way out the door.

“Apparently,” Varric watched her astutely, tossing his satchel over one shoulder, “I've seen shamblers in Crestwood with less pallor.” Before the Inquisitor could muster a retort, Master Tethras had a shoulder at her side, nudging her around towards the door, “How about a stiff drink, ay kid?”

“Varric, I really don't--”

“ _C’mon_ ,” he pressed, ushering her out into the darkening courtyard, and down the Main Hall’s dual flights of stairs. “One round, on me. Besides, Tiny’s been poking around looking for you off and on all day.”

“Maker’s tits, I'll bet he has.” Korinna muttered and sighed. At Varric’s look, she explained (or, rather, half-truthed) “I fell asleep in the Library last night is all. I think he was counting on some company. Haven't really had the chance to see him since.”

“Ah. Classic blue balls.”

“ _No_ ,” she groaned, “He's just worried, that's all.”

“Uh- _huh_.”

“Inquisitor.” 

Korinna was jerked from returning the dwarf’s barb with the sudden realization that the shadows just outside the pub had been concealing a pair of Chargers. Krem stepped out into the waning light, Stitches on his heels, the latter of whom had apparently stepped out for a smoke.

“Hey Krem,” Korinna nodded, a hand falling genially to the man’s forearm out of habit as he lead them inside, “I didn't realize the Chargers were back already.”

“Cleared the place in record time,” the Lieutenant beamed proudly, “And it turns out the great bear picking off Inquisition soldiers just outside the forward camp had a trio of mates lurking about the same cave.”

“ _Four bears_ against _three guys_?” Varric balked with a grin, “Shit, kid. You lot put half the Inquisition soldiers to shame, comin’ home with stories like that.”

“Nah,” Krem chuckled, “Just doing our job.”

It seemed the Chargers weren't the only team to arrive to Skyhold a bit earlier than planned. At least three rotations of soldiers Korinna was certain hadn't been due back until daylight could be spotted huddling around tables and the roaring hearth, all with the same idea upon arrival… Celebratory drinks. Alongside soldiers who had been due back that evening and those who were due to head out the next day, every floor of the tavern was surprisingly packed. The numbers and noise made her head swoon on the spot.

“Hey Chief!” Krem called no sooner had Korinna passed the threshold. She felt her friend wave just over her shoulder and did her damnedest not to look cross as dozens of curious faces swung their way at once.

There was something to be said about being the only Qunari in the room. The moment the Iron Bull rose to his feet he was impossible to miss, despite the sheer volume of people surrounding them. As the massive horned warrior ambled her way from a table near the back of the room, both of Korinna’s companions broke away. 

“I'll grab us some drinks, ay?” Varric gestured over his shoulder before he was lost in the sea of taller bodies, “Meet me at our table when you shake loose.” Krem, meanwhile, passed right by Bull on his way back to the table claimed by the rest of the Chargers.

“Hey,” Korinna managed quietly as Bull reached earshot, and winced at the voice that left her sounded almost… embarrassed. 

“Kadan,” Bull greeted her just as quietly. He drew a large hand to her chin, raising her gaze to meet his properly in a simple, impressively tender gesture. With a single once-over, the former Ben Hassrath immediately ushered the pair of them away from the bustling pub crowd. 

Korinna hefted a sigh, arms crossing tightly over her stomach as she waded into the tiny store room behind the bar and turned to watch Bull as he ducked to enter as well. He seemed especially huge in such tight quarters, Korinna mused hesitantly. The thought was all the time it took for Bull to close the narrow space between them. Her folded arms unfurled out of sheer habit as he ducked capturing her in a firm, almost possessive kiss, before pulling away just far enough to keep her gaze.

“I came up to your chambers last night,” he noted quietly, “You never showed.”

“I know, I'm sorry,” she nodded, gaze dropping to a nearby cask of ale, “I ran late in the Library again. Then Sera found me and…” She rubbed her eyes with one hand, “The night got away from me is all.” 

He was watching her like a hawke. Analyzing as he so often did. The sheer heat of that gaze made her stammer and fumble her words, riling up Bull’s suspicions all the greater.

She’d been avoiding him for days, and he knew it. What he didn't know was why. He hadn't a clue that she feared finding sleep around him, only to tear awake in a fit of terror… That she had avoided telling him anything out of sheer guilt of having pulled him into the fade with her, of having put him in the midst of a literal waking nightmare… The apex breeding ground of demons - one of the few things the Iron Bull truly feared. And now, after what she'd done, she feared divulging the truth of the nightmares that plagued her. She feared telling him that the dreams were so real, so clear, that amidst them she was certain she had returned to the Fade. She feared he'd think she was losing her mind.

Bull’s deep sigh pulled Korinna out of her panicked jumble of thoughts. The moment she glanced back up she was greeted with with the sight of his heavily knitted brow and an unusually transparent level of worry in his eye. 

“Hey,” she whispered, hand rising to his cheek softly, her thumb brushing a scar there, “Kadan. Stop. We’re all right.”

Some tension seemed to leave him, if only a little. The slight turn of his head brought his gruff mouth to the palm of her hand, and he pressed a kiss there, his gaze keeping her own the whole while. Smiling, her opposite hand gripped a strap of the harness that crossed his chest. 

The pull she gave it did nothing to actually move him - trying to sway the Iron Bull was like trying to push a brick wall. It was all the instigation he required, however, to duck and steal another kiss from the Inquisitor; a kiss that, after days of hardly seeing hide nor hare of her deepened fast. One broad hand snaked to the small of her waste, another into her hair, and she found herself flush to him - dwarfed by him - his mouth claiming her own. 

A rising thrum of excitement swept and intertwined with her already heady exhaustion, and within moments, Korinna was breathless, almost woozy. She ducked in efforts to pull away and sucked in a dizzying breath. Catching the tremble in the small hands upon his shoulders, Bull just grinned.

Korinna cuffed him softly upon the chest, “Maker’s tits, at least buy a girl a drink first.”

Bull laughed, and hooked a broad arm about slender shoulders to guide her back out of the storage space, “By all means. All right. C’mon, Kadan.”


	2. Stealth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The simple feat of unwinding with friends proves disastrous for the already enervated Inquisitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Dragon Age Inquisition:** Night Terrors  
>  **Part 2:** Stealth  
>  **Characters:** Inquisitor Trevelyan, Varric Tethras, The Iron Bull, Dorian Pavus, Sera, The Bull’s Chargers, Cremisius Aclassi  
>  **Word Count:** 1,622  
>  **Synopsis:** The simple feat of unwinding with friends proves disastrous for the already enervated Inquisitor.  
>  **Rating:** T  
>  **Warnings:** Language, Crude Humor, Depictions of Violence  
>  **Writer Notes:** Didn’t expect to have a follow up chapter to this so soon, but hey. Here we go. Thanks for reading!

“The Inquisitor and her mighty steed return,” Varric teased as Korinna and the Iron Bull rounded one of the tables that had been commandeered by their friends.

“Heavens, that _was_ quick,” Dorian mused. He pushed a chair out for Korinna with one slender boot, whilst crooning to the Bull, “Are you certain you're giving this lovely young woman the sort of time and effort she deserves?” 

“Fuck a nug, Vint,” Bull deadpanned. 

“We were merely having a conversation,” Korrinna laughed, “For heaven’s sake.” 

“Sure you were,” teased Krem.

The moment Korinna was settled into the chair beside him, Bull reached to hook a hand just beneath her chair’s seat and yanked it closer to his side, Inquisitor and all. A handful of chargers chuckled at the display, and Korinna cuffed the back of her hand at their Chief’s chest teasingly. All the while, the Iron Bull manned a pint that Dalish pushed his way, draping an arm across the back of his Kadan’s chair and grinning at her fiendishly from over the top of his ale.

“Nah, it's like this, right?” Sera, already a pint or three in by the flush in her cheeks, leaned in where she sat and wagged a finger between the most peculiar pairing in Skyhold, “I mean, you'd _know_ if our ‘quizzy were gettin’ a punch up the knickers, right, what with the _moaning_. Not a quiet one, this.”

“I _have_ had the tremendously awkward pleasure of neighboring tents, yes,” Dorian supplanted, grinning as Korinna sunk further down into her seat.

“Pfft. No one’s buying you weren't thanking the Maker for that show, pretty boy,” Sera teased, before gesturing back to Korinna, “In her defense, though, c’mon, I mean… Not much _quiet_ would be happening staring down _that big_ of a co--”

“I'll have the lot of you drawn and quartered _Maker help me_ ,” Korrine finally groaned, barely audible of Bull’s boisterous laugh. 

“Aww,” Sera grinned, “Quizzy’s got a blush.” 

“All right, all right,” Varric chuckled, “Leave her be. Here, kid. Drink it off.”

Korinna snatched up the ale she was passed all too eagerly, scattering laughs throughout her company. Within a few blessedly short minutes, however, conversation shifted elsewhere. Between Varric, Dorian, Sera, Bull and his Chargers, there were always wild new tales to be volleyed around and they, without fail, grew wilder with each ale. 

The Inquisitor remained silent. For a while, at least, she was perfectly content to remain huddled into the warm crook of Bull’s arm, watching her friends regale impossible feats and nursing the pint in her grasp. With time and comfort's extended stay, however, exhaustion weaved its way back into her bones. Dry eyes ached and her skin ran cold. Korinna settled back into Bull’s grasp all the more, her head resting upon his shoulder, and she smiled wearily as he pressed his mouth to her temple.

Comfort and calm blinded her to the sudden presence of sleep. Only the sharp clicking of venomous talons shocked her into the realization that she'd dropped her guard just a little too much for a little too long. Panic cudgeled her like a fist. Korinna’s eyes snapped open wide, and a yell tore from her throat as she fell skyward, smacked stone, and scrambled to her feet. 

The black city loomed overhead, an unceasing threat. Noxious fumes licked her skin and boiling waters ebbed and needled into her boots. The Fade was a furious churning of movement and emotion - Abominable helplessness. Desperation. Fear. 

Blinking in attempts to level her swimming head brought much of the indistinguishable movement around her into sharp, horrifying focus.

Thousands of demons in the form of gigantic, gnashing, venom-toothed spiders descended the craggy cavernous walls around her, as far as the eye could see. Endless, unyielding, they shrieked and clicked, every one of them surging towards her. Korinna looked around frantically, her breath stolen, her body slicked in sweat, for a bow, a dagger, an escape - anything at all.

What she found tore a shriek from her lungs so desperate she barely recognized it as her own. 

The Iron Bull bellowed screams of his own, but they were voiceless - stolen - as he writhed out of arm’s reach. He fought and struggled, gnashed and wailed as the demons that reached him over came him, shearing flesh from bone.

Korinna’s legs gave way. Her knees smacked the stone floor as devastation overtook terror. She saw little then as white hot pain ripped the vision from her eyes. Demons overtook her, and talons feasted on flesh and fear alike.

“Kadan?”

Korinna shook awake, tearing air into her lungs after too long without. Her equilibrium ducked and bowed as her pulse shivered and her muscles ached. The immediate gathering of companions around her had fallen remarkably still. 

“Hey.” She felt Bull’s massive form shift at her side, one hand tilting her ashen face towards his, the other brushing hair from her features and his eye swept her fretfully, “Easy, Kadan. You're all right.”

Stitches was with her side before she knew it, while Sera hovered and fret. Varric muttered to Dorian, and Dalish dart away for some water.

“I'm fine,” Korinna lied, mortified by the sudden overwhelming mollycoddling. Trembling hands batted away Stitches and Bull both as she shook her still-swimming head. 

“Bullshit,” Varric chided, “What happened?”

“I said I'm _fine_ , I just need some air.”

Standing was a mistake. Korinna’s legs buckled and her balance tipped. Bull was on his feet with a speed that belied his size, an arm gathering her up to keep her from hitting the floor. Welling with panic and embarrassment and potently fresh memories of the Fade, however, the Inquisitor felt the same desperate pull for solitude that had been eluding her for days.

With a twist and a squirm she stumbled from Bull’s grasp. With another sharp movement still, she cast stealth and vanished from her comrades’ view. They sputtered and cursed, looking around in outright confusion, while more tavern patrons still craned their necks in curiosity. Korinna, still gasping for breath on feeble legs, made an unseen rush for the door. 

The chill of the nighttime mountain air was shocking, though not unwelcome, as she stumbled outside. It gripped her and cleared her head, forcing her to focus as she bumbled onward. Korinna’s breathing calmed and her paces steadied, and by the time she reached the foot of the stairwell that lead up to the Great Hall, she felt panic wane enough to drop the invisibility that had helped her slip from the Tavern’s crowd. 

Korinna breathed the biting air in deep, before slumping to sit upon a stone step. She brushed damp hair from her eyes with trembling hands. 

The vast courtyard was largely abandoned and blessedly dark at the late hour. Pinholes of light from the blanket of stars overhead and warm firelight cast through windows throughout Skyhold, but did little to ease the difficulty of adjusting her eyes to the dark. As tears graced her cheeks for reasons far beyond the night chill, however, she could see well enough to spot the handful of bodies that waded out from Harold’s Rest across the way. The Iron Bull and Varric hung back by the door, Varric looking worried, and Bull squinting against the dark with stunted vision, in spite of the small orb of light Dorian cast between them.

Sera, unbridled as ever, sprint Korinna’s way the moment she spotted her friend upon the steps. She said nothing at first as she reached her; Taking one good look at Korinna and spotting tears gave the peculiar young elf all she needed to know. Sera flopped down beside the Inquisitor, skinny arms gathering her up and holding her tight, hiding Korinna away for a brief but desperately needed cry.

“More head-stuff, ay?” Sera whispered, watching Korinna carefully as she recollected her composure.

“Yeah,” Korinna nodded wearily. Sera, for all of her peculiarities, had become one of the Inquisitor's closest confidants in the Inquisition. Despite trust being deeply hard to come by with the young elf, she was loyal to a fault once swayed, and Korinna had found her an earnest and compassionate friend. As such, it was she who had been trusted with fearful secrets of night terrors since Adamant, and Sera who had done wonders spending long nights helping keep Korinna distracted and awake. “Maker, I’m not sure how much more of this I can _do_.”

“But it's got to ease up eventually, yeah?” Sera pressed, despite not sounding terribly convinced herself. When Korinna said nothing, she sighed, standing, lithe hands grabbing her best mate and hoisting her to her feet, “Right, then. You've not seen the inside of your quarters in days, yeah? Up we go, steal the mountain breeze til our tits freeze off, have a laugh or twelve, and lock the door behind us so you won't be bothered by that horny horned idiot of yours. It'll be daylight before you know it.”

“Sera,” Korinna moaned, despite following her friend diligently up the stairs, “I can't just _lock him out_ , he’ll think-”

“ _Horsepucky_ ,” Sera declared simply, “He’s a big, big boy, that one. If he can't take one off the chin now and then he ain't got much right expecting you to.” When Korinna made to protest still, the Red Jenny waved her off, “ _He’ll deal_ , that's all I'm sayin’.”

The Inquisitor sighed, but relented, “You’re right.”

“You’re damn right I’m right,” Sera teased, before gathering her friend close and jockeying the pair of them up the stairs.


End file.
